Vital win for Sochaux

Sochaux can look at the bottom of the Ligue 1 table with a little more ease after sealing a vital 1-0 win at Ajaccio.

Last Updated: 17/11/12 10:38pm

Sochaux can look at the bottom of the Ligue 1 table with a little more ease after sealing a vital 1-0 win at Ajaccio.

Eric Hely's men started the weekend in the bottom three and in need of a win by any means. That this came via an 11th-minute Samuel Bohours own goal will not faze them one bit.

The fact that fellow strugglers Evian came back to draw 2-2 with St Etienne may not cheer them, though, but they can at least take heart from the fact that Evian have replaced them in the bottom three.

They are now two points ahead of the danger zone, although they had to ride their luck on several occasions.

Hely's men did start the better, with Sloan Privat going close with a header, but they were breathing a sigh of relief six minutes in when Bohours - going the right way - crossed for Adrian Mutu who headed against the post.

Sochaux went back on the attack and Ryan Boudebouz worked Guillermo Ochoa from distance, but the goalkeeper could do nothing when the goal came.

Abdoul Camara went on a mazy run, fed Roy Contout and his cross was turned into his own goal by the unfortunate Bohours who was unsure of what was behind him.

Thinking that one goal would not be enough, Sochaux went right back on the attack, with Privat drawing a save from Ochoa, while at the other end Ferederic Sammaritano went close with a volley.

For two teams not normally associated with flowing football the standard was a high one, with Boudebouz in the thick of things again as he curled one in that Ochoa stopped at full stretch.

Sochaux took their deserved lead to the interval but were far from out of the woods, with Mutu skimming the post - his second close shave - five minutes after the restart.

Sensing a chance, Ajaccio mounted some heavy pressure, with the well-travelled Mutu hitting the target from the edge of the box, while his free-kick teed-up Carl Medjani who should have done better with a volley.

Mutu was finding visiting keeper Simon Pouplin an immovable object and so it proved again with a 72nd-minute free-kick as Sochaux held out.